A scale to measure microbehaviors of oral contraceptive pill use

The ways in which contraceptive methods are actually used is of increasing interest to researchers, clinicians, and policy makers. Although contraceptive "use" has multiple dimensions, existing indicators measure only one aspect of use or combine unidimensional measures to produce a questionable pastiche. This study uses a subsample of 612 respondents from a larger study of first-time patients at a public-health-department family planning clinic to develop a new measure. Psychometric properties of this measure are examined and discussed.